If there are people whose professional lives change overnight and without any common ground, Catarina Correia is one of them. After twenty-two years working in the tourism sector in various roles (outgoing, incoming, commercial, hospitality, head of reservations, and event organizer), she decided to quit and start a new life as a baker.
The transition has no common ground, but it happened in a simple way. “I changed my life due to two factors: health and fatigue. Tourism is an extremely interesting and appealing area, but also very tiring and stressful because everything has to be done yesterday. I pondered the decision for a few years, but the time came when I had to make a decision,” she explained.
“Without really knowing what I was going to do next, I quit my job. I just knew I wanted to work in something completely different. At first, I helped some friends in a vegetarian bar, and then when I heard that Massa Mãe Açores was looking for someone, I took a chance. And that’s how ‘Xuxu Padeira’ came about, which is my nickname,” she added.
Despite having no experience in the field, learning a new trade was not difficult. “I already had some empirical knowledge that you learn in the family, mainly from my grandmother, who made her own corn bread at home, and from a great-aunt who was an excellent pastry chef.”
Probably already with the “bug” inside her, but without knowing it was there, Catarina Correia smiled broadly: “I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, around the table, watching delicious wonders appear almost out of nowhere. Flour, sugar, eggs, and voilà: bread, dough, cookies, and biscuits were on the table,” she recalled.
A free-spirited, detached, and forthright woman, Catarina Correia does not see this job as a career because, she explained, she still has dreams to fulfill. “I love what I do, but I haven’t lost sight of starting my own business. Right now, besides the bakery, I devote myself to other pleasures such as gardening, other fermented foods, and creating nativity scene pieces.”

What is Massa Mãe Açores?

Massa Mãe Açores is an artisan bakery that stands out from the rest because it “produces sourdough bread, better known as sourdough. Sourdough is what we use as a leavening agent and consists only of water and flour. Through a combination of natural bacteria and yeast, the bread rises. No chemicals are added, and besides being a high-quality and healthier bread, it also lasts longer.”
The entire process follows the concept of slow fermentation, meaning ‘the bread is made with sourdough and refrigerated for about sixteen hours at a specific temperature, rising naturally and acquiring a slightly sour taste,’ explained Catarina Correia.

Who is Catarina Correia?

Born in Ponta Delgada, Catarina Correia studied until the 12th grade at the Laranjeiras secondary school, but “maths played a trick on me,” she jokes. So she decided to “take a technical-professional course in Tourism at the former Chamber of Commerce and Industry school in Ponta Delgada,” This training put her on a plane to Bremen, Germany, where she interned with seven other colleagues.
When she returned to São Miguel, she started working at a travel agency. Then she went on to work for eight other companies, all linked to the tourism sector, and gained some experience in promoting the Azores as a tourist destination at trade fairs.

By Simas Amaral for Diário da Lagoa, Clife Botelho, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.